Randy Taylor
Randall William "Randy" Taylor is a main character in Home Improvement from Seasons 1-7 and the first two episodes of Season 8. He is portrayed by Jonathan Taylor Thomas. He is the middle brother of Brad and Mark and the son of Tim and Jill Taylor. He is 13 months younger than Brad Taylor Early Years Early on, Randy was Brad's partner in crime and was quite a mischievous kid, going as far as to dig holes in the cemetery and tell Mark that bodies escaped, stealing money from orphans during Christmas, and even stealing a cookie packet from Jill's stash along with a cigar from Tim's drawer. As an older brother, Randy frequently picked on Mark with Brad, though things quieted down somewhat as Brad and Randy went their seperate ways and Randy started sharing a room with Mark for a short time. Interests Randy’s interests as a kid was perhaps different from his brothers. Unlike Brad and Mark, he lacked his father's interest in tools, and also lacked his mother's interest in ballet and opera. He shared with his mother; however, the passion for acting, and shared with his father his knack of joke-telling. Acting As a child, Randy played the innkeeper in the Christmas story, though he tried for Joseph. However, he created and enhanced his lines up and was reduced to a sheep. Later, he managed to star as Peter in Peter Pan. Jokes Randy had a knack for cracking jokes, most of which were aimed at either Brad or Tim, the latter getting angry at him once for going too far when making fun of Tool Time to his friend Jeremy. Teenage Years When Randy was a teenager, his life faced a potential (though unlikely) threat in the episode The Longest Day, when there was the threat of him having cancer. Ultimately, it turned out, Randy didn't have cancer and he only had to take a pill a day to keep everything fine. He also became very skeptical of the intentions of organized religion and politics, as shown in the episode "Losing My Religion." Interests Like Jill, Randy has a talent for amateur acting, and like Tim, he has a talent for cracking sarcastic jokes. It was revealed that Randy also likes the music of Jimi Hendrix. Throughout adolescence, he was a writer for his school newspaper, and went on to become a major critic of the environmental practices of the Binford company, much to Tim's dismay. Randy (like the actor) became very conscious about the environment and civil rights, ultimately landing him in Costa Rica throughout the eighth season for a year with his girlfriend, Lauren. Acting Randy's passion for acting arguably grew in his teenage years, playing as Romeo in the play Romeo and Juliet. He went so far as to replace the school director with Wilson when the play was about to be cancelled, (though it should be noted his desire was really to kiss the girl playing Juliet). The play was actually going quite well but was ruined due to Tim Taylor's incompetent stage prop. Joke Telling Randy's knack for jokes was also growing as a teenager, his jokes getting more ambitious, even sparking anger when the Colonel, his grandpa, died and he cracked death jokes. Only Tim understood that that was how Randy chose to deal with it. Environment and Journalism Randy held great interest in the environment, directly attacking Binford Tools, his father's company, for releasing the most emissions. He frequently wrote about the environment and political corruption in the High school newspaper, despite possibilities that some may not care, as proven in the episode "The Write Stuff." His interest in the environment and animals landed him a place on a one-year study in Costa Rica with his major girlfriend, Lauren. Personality Randy is the jokester of the family, and often portrayed as the perfect combination of both Tim and Jill's personalities. He is the smartest Taylor child and like his mother, a devoted student and conspicuously intellectual. On par with Tim's wit and humor, whenever his father was in trouble with Jill, Randy was always there with a quick remark that would almost always get him in trouble- he was also the quickest to realize which one of his brothers is in trouble with his parents. And he is also known as relaxed, adventurous, nice, daring, understanding, trustworthy, athletic, selfless, loving, optimistic and respectful. Health It was said in "The Longest Day" that he was always the one with health problems out of his brothers. Jill said that he had asthma, and various other health problems. Relationships Brothers Early on in the show, Randy and Brad were portrayed as "partners in crime." While they did argue like normal brothers, they were generally friends due to their mutual enjoyment of picking on Mark. As they got older, they grew apart, as Randy became more focused on school and social issues and Brad became more focused on his soccer talent and girls. Mark and Randy generally don't get along, though things improved somewhat as they got older. Parents Randy was very close to Jill, even more so in the later series. He was also close to Tim, but they sometimes struggled to understand each other because of a lack of common interests, often butting heads, especially when Randy got older. ("Clash of the Taylors", "Losing My Religion") Girls Randy had three known relationships with different girls; Beth, Michelle, and Lauren. Beth Randy's friend Jeremy told Randy to go steady with a girl called Beth. At first, he felt troubled, before finding out she too liked him, and landed a kiss on his first date with her. They stuck together for around a year. Michelle The next was Michelle, who he started dating during his thirteenth birthday party. That relationship was short-lived; however. Lauren When he is fourteen years old he started dating a classmate and fellow writer of the school newspaper Lauren. Lauren was his one major relationship in the series, and it was threatened by a potential separation period when Lauren was picked to go on an environmental study to Costa Rica and Randy wasn't. However, a student pulled out and Randy took his place, their relationship successfully pulling through. As of the end of Season 8, their two year-old relationship is still active. Jonathan Taylor Thomas interview Home Improvement Nickelodeon Magazine December 1998.jpg|Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas is interviewed about leaving Home Improvement in December 1998. Category:Characters